President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed a law according to which the death penalty will be provided for officials for committing treason. This is reported by the Telegram channel “Pool of the First”.
In addition to the death penalty for "treason against the state" committed by an official or military, criminal liability is introduced for "propaganda of terrorism", "discredit" of the Armed Forces and "violation of the requirements for the protection of state secrets."
Belarus is the only country in Europe that uses the death penalty as a form of punishment. In the last ten years, executions have not been so frequent – several times a year. Human rights activists constantly point out that the death penalty can be used by the authorities as a repression and a threat to the opposition in trumped-up criminal cases.
Pavel Slyunkin , an analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a former Belarusian ambassador to Lithuania, in a conversation with The Insider, expressed the opinion that this is how Belarus is preparing for the possibility of an active entry into the war:
In this case, treason will be considered a transition to the side of Ukraine or surrender, or perhaps a refusal to fight. This amendment will apply to both military and civilians. The appearance of such an amendment is a sign that the state system is being prepared. For officials, it is being introduced so that they do not switch sides and provoke a split within the state system.
90% of Belarusians do not want the army to participate in the war, and Lukashenka understands what risks this decision can bring – even in the most loyal layer, people may appear who will not agree with this. And what should be done with them? We must intimidate them. And so, the prospect of the death penalty is created just for this.
It is the same with the army – they do not want to fight, they do not feel that this is their war, and they do not run there, as many Russian mobilized fled to the recruiting stations. They understand what awaits them there – no one wants to die for the Russian military imperial ambitions, and no one wants to die for Lukashenka. Lukashenka understands this very well and creates an alternative for them not in the form of a couple of years in prison, but in the form of the death penalty. This is a sign that all state institutions are preparing for the fact that such a moment may come. This does not mean that they definitely decided that they would send an army, but they definitely know that this is possible, and therefore they are preparing.